Environmental board to rule on complex

News-Times, The (Danbury, CT), Eugene Driscoll THE NEWS-TIMES

Published 1:00 am, Wednesday, February 8, 2006

DANBURY - At nine stories tall with two acres of roof top gardens, a pool house, private parking and 586 units, some swear the Kennedy Place condominium complex has the potential to revitalize downtown Danbury.

"The impact to the downtown will be profound. It will change the dynamics," said Mayor
Mark Boughton
, a Republican. "It is everything that every city in Connecticut is fighting for and we're getting it at no cost to taxpayers."

But some critics say the complex, which development company BRT of Danbury wants to build on the former Amphenol property between Kennedy Avenue and Main Street, is just too much.

"It is totally inappropriate for that location," said
Common Council
member
Lynn Taborsak
, a Democrat. "It will just dominate. It is a good area for development, but the proposal BRT has brought to the table needs to be scaled down."

Members of the commission are scheduled to rule on the environmental impact of the largest residential development in Main Street's history - 586 condominium units and 5,000 square feet of retail space.

EIC members must decide whether the proposal jives with the city's environmental rules. Its members are concentrating on the developer's plan to control the manner in which rain water flows off the property and how BRT will take care of contaminated soil already on the property.

The developer's plans call for a 5,000 square-foot retail building on the corner of Main Street and Kennedy Avenue. Three floors of condo units - 21 in all - would be placed behind and on top.

Then, the heart of the complex - seven stories of 553 condo units built on top of a two-story parking garage - would essentially be four buildings constructed in individual segments, connected by pedestrian bridges. Residents would access roof-top gardens and a pool house on the third level.

Finally, another four-story building would feature a dozen three bedroom condos.

The developer's plans call for a long construction cycle. Segments would be built and sold in phases. The project would not be complete until sometime in 2011.

Bertram said the complex will be designed to reflect old-school Danbury architecture, incorporating the style of the city's older buildings along Main and White streets.

"We've definitely designed the project with the history and the roots of the area in mind," Bertram said.

However, Common Council member
Paul Rotello
, a Democrat, said the complex, as designed, will be massive and isolated.

Rotello said the pedestrian walkways that connect parts of the complex encourage residents who live inside to stay indoors when it is supposed to be attracting people to Main Street.

"This is more high impact than high density," Rotello said. "It's going to be fenced off with 24-hour security."

Bertram called the planning behind his application meticulous.

"This is a renewal project," Bertram. "We've spent a lot of time so that the project is aesthetically pleasing and is of a sufficient size to actually make a difference in the community."

At the EIC meeting today, members will refer to a report prepared by
Jack Kozuchowski
, Danbury's director of environmental health services.

The report suggests several stipulations the commission should attach to the BRT project, if the commission decides to approve it.

Much of the soil on the property is contaminated because it was once an industrial site. Contaminants in the ground include oil, metals and polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons typically found in asphalts and fuels.

BRT will entomb the contaminated soil by burying it under the proposed buildings, protecting the soil from stormwater run off, which is required by law.

As it stands, large concrete foundations on the property are full of cracks, allowing rain to mix with the contaminated soil and flow off the property.

"If they do it right, it would improve the situation," Kozuchowski said.

The EIC meeting will be held 7:30 p.m. today in the Common Council chambers in City Hall at 155 Deer Hill Avenue.